Eye-scanning in Heathrow Airport (BBC NEWS)

Eye-scanning technology is being used at Heathrow Airport's busiest terminal to speed up immigration checks.

UK citizens and some foreign travellers can now use the system to skip passport checks at terminal one.

Passengers who volunteer can pre-register a photograph
of their eye then have their eye scanned on arrival at an automated
booth.

Project Iris has been operating at Heathrow terminals two and four since last June.

Immigration minister Tony McNulty said: "It is important
that the UK remains at the forefront of the latest technology in
immigration controls.

Automatic barriers

"Secure and effective border controls are vital to
safeguard our citizens against terrorism, serious and organised crime
and illegal immigration, while at the same time facilitating entry for
legitimate travellers."

Apart from British citizens, Project Iris is open to frequent visitors to the UK and foreigners with leave to remain in Britain.

The £2.86m technology works by photographing a
passenger's iris patterns and storing the data in a database together
with their passport details.

These registered travellers can then proceed through automatic barriers in the immigration arrivals hall.

Project Iris is due to be installed at Gatwick North and
South, Heathrow terminal three, Stansted, Birmingham and terminals one
and two at Manchester by the end of this year.

The project was temporarily shut-down after the London bomb attacks in July, then re-opened on 3 January.